Of Jam Jars, Shelves, and The Whip’s Call to Persevere

Saturday, August 16, 2025

The day began around 4 a.m. once again, as I continue testing out this new routine. Last night I had managed to go to bed with both the sink emptied and the laundry folded—a small but satisfying victory. After dressing, I slipped into my morning cleaning ritual, pausing between chores to draw my daily tarot card. Today’s card was The Whip—a warning to brace myself, to stay mindful of the challenges that might lie ahead. With that in mind, I mixed up the day’s bread dough and began emptying the dehydrator. The lemon balm I had harvested yesterday was finally ready to be stored away. Outside, the forecast promised sunshine at last, and I planned a comforting dinner of tater tot casserole, adding the ingredients into our Walmart cart.

anger and fighting. abuse. violence. discipline. a strong disagreement. addiction. obsession. a witches scourge

The girls woke soon after. Lily asked for Unicorn Academy, and I tucked my lemon balm oil safely into the fridge before setting out plates of pancakes and sausage for breakfast. Once the girls had eaten, they headed off to clean their room. Charlie kindly took over kneading my bread dough so it could go to its first rise, giving me time to turn back to the peach jam simmering in the kitchen.

lemon balm oil

With their room tidied, the girls watched a short video about bird feathers before playing together in the hallway. I finished the peach jam and moved it outside to the stove for canning, then stored away the last of my lemon balm for future use. Lunch came quickly, and after the girls ate, Aria and Sephy went down for their naps while Lily headed out with Dameion to help with upgrades on the chicken coop.

canning the jam

The house grew quiet, and I took advantage of the lull to do my fall cutback of catnip—perfect timing with an empty dehydrator. Charlie tended to the bread, setting it for its second rise. I finished my batch of elderberry gummies and tucked them into the fridge to set, while Charlie moved forward with dinner prep. Eventually, Lily came back inside to cool down, and the casserole was placed in the oven to bake.

bucket of catnip

Once nap was over, the girls slipped right into play while I assembled my new shelving unit. It felt so good to begin moving and organizing all of our school supplies into a proper home. The gummies were taken from the fridge and portioned into storage containers, another little job checked off the list. Before long, the girls had finished dinner and a snack, then settled into some quiet TV before bedtime.

elderberry gummies

After the girls were down, Dameion got Lily ready for her daddy-daughter night out—a live wrestling show. None of us are fans of wrestling (it feels senseless to watch), but Lily loves it, and that’s all that matters. With the house winding down, we pulled out the bed, and I finally stretched out, ready to surrender to sleep.

As I drifted off, I thought back to my morning card, The Whip. The day had indeed cracked and snapped with constant motion—chores, cooking, canning, organizing, and tending—but in the end, I had managed to keep pace without breaking. Sometimes the card is a warning, but sometimes it’s a reminder: strength is found in persistence, in pushing through the daily tasks with resilience and love.